Wine Study Notes

MW Program Study Notes:

Viticulture (Stephen Skelton MW)

The Grapevine ✅
Phylloxera and rootstocks
Site selection
Grapegrowing regions of the world
Soils for vineyards ✅
Vineyard establishment ✅
Trellising, training, and pruning ✅
The annual cycle of the vine ✅
Irrigation ✅
Organic and biodynamic viticulture ✅
Diseases and viruses ✅
Pests ✅
Nutritional disorders and cultural problems

IDTT Interview Notes

JMIB Notes:

Podcasts, Books, Movies, Websites ([+++] means highly recommend):

I'll Drink to That [+++]: in-depth conversations with vintners, informative, notes above
Taste with Doug Shafer: conversations between Doug and other winemakers, mostly Napa
WineMasters documentary series [+++]: Gaja, E Guigal, Muga, Regaleali, Angelus, Trimbach, Drouhin, Henry Bourgeois, Alvaro Palacios, Hidalgo, Miguel Torres, Antinori, Mastroberadino, Masi.
Wine from the Rhone: Jasmin, Clape; Gramenon.
Siptrip by Jeff Porter, harvest series at SommTV, etc.
Jamie Goode vineyard visits eg Eben Sadie, Uruguay, etc.
Movies/documentaries:
1. A Year in Burgundy/Champagne/Port (Martine Saunier) [+++]
2. Barolo Boys (Elio Altare etc.)[+++]
3. Wine and War (Chateau Musar - Serge!!) (2020) [+++]
4. Red Obsession (China - Bordeaux) [+++]
5. Mondovino (Michele Rolland, Hubert de Montille, Aimé Guibert, etc.)[+++]
6. Sour Grapes (Rudy Kurniawan) [+++]
7. Back to Burgundy (Jean-Marc Roulot!) [+++]
8. Our Blood is Wine (Georgia) [+++]
9. Wine Calling (Natural Wine)
10. Wine Crush (2020)
11. Tin City (Paso Robles Glorified Commercial)
12. Sideways (Paul Giamatti, Sandra Oh, Cheval Blanc, Santa Barbara) [++]
13. Bottle Shock (factually incorrect storytelling of 1976 The Judgment of Paris, Alan Rickman!) [++]
14. Somm Series (3)
15. The Secret of Santa Victtoria
16. You Will be My Son (St Emilion)
17. Decanted (Napa)
18. A Good Year (Russell Crowe, Provence)
Books that I have bought and *read or listened to* [+++ means highly recommend] --- will review with more details regarding content when I have time and bored

Adventures on the Wine Route, Kermit Lynch: classic [+++]
Every book by Jancis Robinson [+++]: Tasting Pleasure, Wine Grapes, Oxford Companian, World Atlas
Vino Italiano: Regional Wines of Italy, Bastianich J and Lynch D [++]
Native Wine Grapes of Italy, Ian d'Agata [+++]
Italy's Native Wine Grape Terriors, Ian d'Agata [+++]
Kerin O'Keefe's books on Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo and Barbaresco [++]
The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy, Nicholas Belfrage [++]
Reflections of a Wine Merchant, Neal Rosenthal [+++]
What Makes a Wine Worth Drinking: In Praise of the Sublime
Reading Between the Wines, Terry Theise: somehow compared to Kermit Lynch's and Neal Rosenthal's books as wine merchants, these two books of Terry feature a certain pedantic and authoritative tone that turns me off, sorry
Champange, Peter Liem [+++]
Flawless, Jamie Goode [++]
Wine and War, Donald Kladstrup and Petie Kladstrup [+++]
The Billionaire's Vinegar, Ben Wallace [++]
Judgment of Paris, George Taber [++]
Cork Dork, Bianca Bosker
Shadows in the Vineyard, Max Potter [+++]
Vignettes, Jane Lopes [++]
99 Bottles, Andre Mack
The 100 Burgundy by Jeannie Cho Lee [++]
The Climats and Leux-dits of Great Vineyards of Burgundy [+++]
Histoire Et Statistique De La Vigne Et Des Grands Vins De La Cote D'Or 1855 by M. J. Lavalle --- the classic [+++]
Adventrous Wine Architecture
The Drops of God Series Volume 1-34 [+++]
The Story of Wine by Hugh Johnson [+++]
Wines of Chablis by Rosemary George [++]
Wine from Another Galaxy - Noble Rot [+++]
Puligny-Montrachet: Journal of a Village in Burgundy [++]
Hungarian Wine: A Tasting Trip to the New Old World [+]
Drink What You Want by John deBary [++]
Wines of the French Alps [++]
The Wines of Germany [++]
The Wines of South Africa [+++]
Vineyards, Rockes, & Soils [++]
The Wines of Greece [+++]
Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food [+++]
Napa Valley Now and Then, Kelly White [++]
Godforsaken Grapes, Jason Wilson [+++]
Wine Science, Jamie Goode [+++]
The Goode Guide to Wine, Jaime Goode [+]
Authentic Wine, Jaime Goode [++]
Burgundy Vintages: A History from 1845 , Allen Meadows [+++]
Champagne Vintages 1899-2019, Charles Curtis
The Original Grand Crus of Burgundy, Charles Curtis [+++]
Thomas Jefferson on Wine, John Hailman [+++]
Volcanic Wines, John Szabo [+++]
Hungrarian Wine, A Taste Trip to the New Old World: Robert Smyth [++]
The Wines of Burgundy, Clive Coates: I don't like this book it's more of opinions not facts unlike Inside Burgundy, and it limits its scope to a handful of iconic producers whose bottles are out of reach nowadays
Cote d'Or, Clive Coates: outdated now, plus the same gripe as above
Inside Burgundy, Jasper Morris: the best tome on Burgundy to me [+++]
Inside Bordeaux, Jane Anson [++]
The Widow Clicquot, Mazzeo TJ: quite dry, but to honor la grande dame
North American Pinot Noir, Haeger JW
Pacific Pinot Noir, Haeger JW
The Naked Wine, Alice Feiring
The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste, Raj Parr and Jordan MacKay [+]
Secrets of the Sommelier, Raj Parr and Jordan MacKay [+]
The Dirty Guide to Wine, Alice Feiring and Pascaline Lepeltier [++]
Natural Wine, Isabelle Legeron [+++]
Natural Wine for the People, Alice Feiring
Beyond Flavor, Nick Jackson [++]
The New California Wine, Jon Bonne [+]
Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide To the World's Finest Wines, Robert Parker [+]
Matt Kramer on Wine [++]
The Wine Savant: yikes
The Wine Bible, MacNeil Karen
Big Macs and Burgundy: yikes

[FOR MORE VISIT AI-SOMM]

Resources for WSET diploma and/or Advanced Somm candidates:

Previous Exam Questions, Examiners' Notes, and Tasting Samples:

Blind Tasting:

BOOK: Beyond Flavors by Nick Jackson MW - one of its kind
GuildSomm Video Episode 1 - Whites

GuildSomm Video Episode 2 - Reds

GuildSomm Video Episode 3 - Whites

GuildSomm Video Episode 4 - Reds

2013 Series Part I
2013 Series Part II
2013 Series Part III

Blind Tasting with Chris Tanghe and Geoff Kruth

Three Approaches - Geoff Kruth, Jim Rollston, and Jack Mason
Q & A with Geoff Kruth, Emily Wines, and Yoon Ha
Distinguishing Albariño from Grüner and PG
Hermitage and St. Joseph; Common Blends, Aging Vessels and Blind Tasting Parallels

The most productive preparations for me were:

Recording my own wine study podcasts: one episode for every region, reading off my own summaries (ended up ~300 pages) of all the study materials I consolidated including WSET diploma text books, GuildSomm study guide, Wine Atlas, and Sotheby's. The podcast episodes ended up ~30 hours total. I listen to them whenever I can: cooking, running, swimming, napping, reading, etc.
Consolidating all the key factors for a region on regional maps based on maps from Society of Wine Educators, GuildSomm, and Wine Atlas, here are some of the scanned maps with my chicken scratches
Semi-blind tastings with wine flights of easily confused wines or similar wines for me, which had been so much easier for me to practice alone using Coravin. Example flights include

Alto Adige Pinot Grigio, Oregon Piont Grigio, basic Gruner Veltliner, Hunter Valley Semillon, Rias Biaxas Albarino, Vinho Verde, young Eden Riesling, Vouvray, etc.
Bandol, Priorat, Cornas, Ribera del Duero, Pinotage, Aglianico (Taurasi, Vulture), Sagrantino (Montefalco), etc.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Priorat Blanc, Saint-Joseph Blanc, Hermitage Blanc, etc.
Chardonnays/Pinot Gris from Australia vs New Zealand vs Oregon vs Canada

My own topic-focused summaries for Old Vines, Botrytis, Soils, Varieties, Climates, Geography, Hazards, Altitudes, etc. Here are some examples:

Soils
Old Vine
Botrytis (grapes, regions, etc.)
Grapes summarized by factors like thin/thick skin, prone to powdery mildew, millerandage, coulure, esca, etc.
Climates
Grand summary of grapes